Veterinary research in horses encompasses the study of diseases, health management, and medical treatments specific to equine species. This field investigates various aspects of horse health, including infectious diseases, metabolic disorders, and musculoskeletal conditions. Researchers focus on understanding the pathophysiology of equine ailments, developing diagnostic tools, and evaluating therapeutic interventions. The study of horse health also involves examining preventive measures such as vaccination protocols and nutritional management to promote overall well-being. This page collects peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the diverse areas of veterinary science related to horses, providing insights into disease mechanisms, treatment strategies, and advancements in equine healthcare.
Ramadan RM, Taha NM, Auda HM, Elsamman EM, El-Bahy MM, Salem MA.Equine piroplasmosis is not fully understood regarding pathogenicity, prophylaxis, host immune response expression, and specific vectors. Accurately identifying the parasite vector is crucial for developing an effective control plan for a particular infection. This study focused on morphologically identifying two Hyalomma species (H. anatolicum and H. marginatum) and one Rhipicephalus annulatus (R. annulatus) at the species level. The identification process was followed by phylogenetic analysis using the neighbor-joining method based on the cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COXI) gene as a specifi...
Mascaró Triedo CE, Karar S, Abunemeh M, Portier K.Pupillometry is used in humans to monitor pain, nociception and analgesia. This single-center, non-randomized, non-blinded intervention trial, evaluated the effect of nose twitching on the pupil size in awake, sedated, and anesthetized horses. Pupil height (H) and length (L) were measured before (Be) and after (Af) nose twitching in fourteen non-painful adult awake horses (T0). The percentage of variation (PSV) was calculated (PSVTn = [(TnAf-TnBe)/TnBe]*100). Measurements were repeated (Tn) after acepromazine (0.04 mg kg IV) (T1), romifidine (0.04 mg kg IV) (T2), morphine (0.1 mg...
Ryt-Hansen P, Johansen VK, Cuicani MM, Larsen LE, Hansen S.Equine herpesvirus 4 (EHV-4) causes respiratory disease in horses, and the virus is considered endemic in the global equine population. However, outbreaks can occur when several horses are gathered in relation to shows, competitions, breeding units and at hospitals. In the spring year 2022, an EHV-4 outbreak occurred at the Large Animal Teaching Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Nine horses were tested EHV-4 positive during the outbreak, which lasted approx. seven weeks. In addition, a tenth horse "Eq10" tested EHV-4 positive almost three weeks after the last of the outbreak horses ...
Hisaeda K, Ono T, Kadekaru S, Hata A, Miyama TS, Kutara K, Sugimoto K, Hiasa Y, Ohzawa E, Kunieda T, Iwata E, Kitagawa H.Plasma or serum amino acids are used to evaluate nutritional status and metabolic disorders. In this study, we aimed to set reference values of serum amino acid concentrations in the Noma horse, a Japanese native horse. Thirty-one horses were classified into six age groups: neonatal foal (0-4 days), foal (0.5-1 years), youth (5 years), middle age (10 years), old (15 years), and extra-old (>20 years). Horses >5 years of age were analyzed together as the adult group. In the adult horses, there were no significant differences among the serum amino acid concentrations of each age group. The ...
Meyer C, Gabriel F, Schrum K, Hollis M, Short M, Gould S.Airbag vests (AV) are increasingly popular in equestrian sports. The efficacy of AV in protecting against serious injury has not been adequately analyzed, nor have product testing standards been established. This study provides an overview of current research to understand AV efficacy and future areas of improvement. A systematic review applying the PRISMA framework, NIH Study Quality Assessment, and CEBM Level of Evidence was conducted. Employing variations of "equestrian sport," "powered two-wheeled vehicle," "thoracic injury," "chest deflection," "airbag vest," and "safety vest," 18 article...
Consistent information and standardization procedures regarding the time of storage for frozen samples and the effects of storage time on enzyme activity are still missing in the literature. Thus, we evaluated the effects of different storage temperatures (-20 °C and - 80 °C), three repetitive freeze/thaw cycles, and 24-h mimic transportation on the activities of PON1 (paraoxonase and arylesterase), enzymes involved in the protection and detoxification processes of reactive molecules. PON1 enzymes' activity was validated on serum and heparinized plasma in horses. The results revealed tha...
Muñoz-Prieto A, Llamas-Amor E, Cerón JJ, Hansen S.Equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) is a prevalent condition in horses, affecting up to 93% of racehorses. Comprising the equine squamous gastric disease (ESGD) and the equine glandular gastric disease (EGGD), EGUS poses significant health challenges. Saliva, a non-invasive and easily obtainable sample, is increasingly recognized for its potential as a source of biomarkers in horses. This study investigates changes in saliva analytes using automated assays before and after EGUS treatment, aiming to identify biomarkers indicative of treatment success or failure. A total of 28 horses diagnosed ...
Sobral GG, Neto OCG, Lima TC, Carneiro GF.Providing plasma with immunoglobulins is essential for the health of foals with failure of passive transfer of immunity. The use of lyophilized plasma (LP) offers a simple and affordable option in terms of transportation and storage. This study aimed to measure the concentrations of immunoglobulin G (IgG), total protein (TP), and total solids (TS) in fresh equine plasma before and after lyophilization. Plasma was collected from six healthy male horses. The samples underwent freeze-drying and were reconstituted in deionized water to their original volume. The concentrations of IgG in both fresh...
Graham-Thiers P, Bowen K.Eight geldings weighing 544 ± 16 kg were used to evaluate feeding a postexercise protein meal on plasma amino acids during recovery. Horses were fed sweet feed, corn, grass hay and equal amounts of a protein pellet (32% CP) with meals (MP group) or postexercise (EP group). Horses exercised 1-2 h/day, 5 days/week, for 12 weeks. A pre and poststudy 4 days total urine and feces collection was conducted. Urine and fecal samples were analyzed for nitrogen (N) to calculate N balance. Blood samples were drawn immediately after and at 1 and 3 h postexercise at the start and end of the stud...
Uchida T, Kisugi T, Ishii H, Yamada M, Kinoshita K, Leung GN.To uphold the integrity of horseracing and equestrian sports, it is critical for an equine doping control laboratory to develop a comprehensive screening method to cover a wide range of target substances at the required detection levels in equine urine. Methods: The procedure involved the enzymatic hydrolysis of 3 mL urine samples followed by solid-phase extraction using HF Bond Elut C18 cartridge. The resulting extracts were then separated on a C18 reversed-phase column and analyzed using liquid chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC/HRMS) in both electrospray ionization positiv...
Khan Y, El-Shalofy A, Kaps M, Gautier C, Aurich C.We aimed to determine associations between experimentally impaired uterine clearance or treatment with ecbolic drugs on luteal development in estrous mares after insemination. In a crossover design, eight mares were treated with saline (CON), clenbuterol (CLEN), oxytocin (OXY) and carbetocin (CARB) from the day of first insemination until 2 days after ovulation. Between treatments, the mares rested for one cycle. Estrous mares were examined for the presence of free intrauterine fluid by transrectal ultrasound. Endometrial swabs for cytology and bacteriology were collected on days 1 and 14. Blo...
Safaee Firouzabadi MS, Paidar Ardakani A.Many studies have shown a strong correlation between Hindgut Acidosis (HGA) and the occurrence of laminitis in horses; therefore, the early diagnosis of HGA is essential. In this study, we investigated changes in the plasma concentrations of lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP) and serum amyloid A (SAA) as inflammatory markers in horses with laminitis. Sixteen healthy male Arabian horses that had cecal cannulation without visible laminitis or general symptoms were randomly divided into two groups. The horses were fed two different diets in a forage-to-concentrate ratio. Blood samples were ...
Pimenta J, Prada J, Pires I, Cotovio M.Sarcoids and squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) are the most concerning equine oncological diseases. Both tumors are challenging to manage due to their invasive behavior and high prevalence of recurrences. Furthermore, SCCs have a propensity to metastasize. Programed cell-death ligand 1 (PD-L1) has been one of the main therapeutic targets for immunotherapy in various human tumors. PD-L1 research in equine tumors is scarce and more efforts are necessary to understand the potential of this biomarker as a therapeutical target. Unassigned: Evaluate the immunohistochemical expression of PD-L1 in equin...
Lin ST, Foote AK, Bolas NM, Sargan DR, Murray RC.Information regarding the histopathology of the proximal phalanx (P1) sagittal groove in racehorses is limited. Twenty-nine cadaver limbs from nine Thoroughbred racehorses in racing/race-training underwent histological examination. Histological specimens of the third metacarpal/metatarsal (MC3/MT3) parasagittal grooves and P1 sagittal grooves were graded for histopathological findings in hyaline cartilage (HC), calcified cartilage (CC), and subchondral plate and trabecular bone (SCB/TB) regions. Histopathological grades were compared between (1) fissure and non-fissure locations observed in a ...
Byrne CA, Voute LC, Marshall JF.Agreement between experienced observers for assessment of pathology and assessment confidence are poorly documented for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the equine foot. Objective: To report interobserver agreement for pathology assessment and observer confidence for key anatomical structures of the equine foot during MRI. Methods: Exploratory clinical study. Methods: Ten experienced observers (diploma or associate level) assessed 15 equine foot MRI studies acquired from clinical databases of 3 MRI systems. Observers graded pathology in seven key anatomical structures (Grade 1: no pathology...
Lima AE, Piñeros DDV, Alibrando BB, Bittar MJ, de Souza AF, Mendes RP, de Freitas SH, Bernardino T, Corrêa RR.The anatomical variations of the maxillary septum and the septal bullae can generate challenges during the interpretation of radiographs of the horses' heads and make it difficult to accurately identify the sites affected in sinus disorders. The description of the radiographic appearance of these structures is currently scarce in the scientific literature. This work aims to describe the anatomical and radiographic characteristics of the maxillary septum and maxillary septal bullae in horses. Six chemically preserved equine cadaver heads were used which, after being submitted to the maxillary o...
Discepolo DR, Gaare E, Handlos G, Perry EB.Cutaneous pH and transepidermal water loss (TEWL) are commonly utilized measures in dermatological research as they provide information concerning barrier function. The importance of dermal health has become more evident in recent years. Accordingly, the aim of this work was to identify natural fluctuations in the biophysical parameters of healthy equine skin. Cutaneous pH and TEWL was collected on nine mares at 6:00 AM, 12:00 PM, and 6:00 PM daily for five days on the nose, withers, girth area, mid-back, and base of tail. Ambient temperature and humidity were measured at each collection. Stat...
Nunes MM, Gurgel JRC, Munhoz ML, de Giuli V, Carneiro GF, Miragaya MH, Gallelli MF, Guimaraes JD.The aim of this study was to assess the effect of lyophilized freezing extenders, which can be stored at room temperature, on stallion post-thaw sperm total motility (TM). Ejaculates of 28 stallions were frozen with four different extenders: two commercial freezing extenders offered worldwide and two novel lyophilized extenders (STAR and MX3), and two different cryopreservation protocols (CP1 with an equilibration period of 20 min. and CP2 with an equilibration period of 60 min.). The TM was assessed after thaw. Mean TM did not show significant differences between cryopreservation protocols wi...
Sedgwick RL, ElBohy O, Daly JM.In this review, we explore how pseudotyped viruses (PVs) are being applied to the study of viruses affecting both humans and horses. For the purposes of this review, we define PVs as non-replicative viruses with the core of one virus and the surface protein(s) of another and encapsulating a reporter gene such as luciferase. These 'reporter' PVs enable receptor-mediated entry into host cells to be quantified, and thus can be applied to study the initial stages of viral replication. They can also be used to test antiviral activity of compounds and measure envelope protein-specific antibodies in ...
Dyson S, Phillips K, Zheng S, Aleman M.There is controversy about the clinical relevance of congenital variants of the ventral laminae of the sixth (C6) and seventh (C7) cervical vertebrae and their relationship with other radiological abnormalities. Objective: To document the prevalence of congenital variants of C6 and C7 and that of other radiological abnormalities from C6 to the second thoracic vertebra (T2). Methods: Cross-sectional. Methods: The study included Warmblood horses ≥3 years of age undergoing clinical assessment at two referral institutions: 127 control horses and 96 cases (neurologic, neck pain or stiffness, or...
Pontaema T, Pongthaisong P, Kenchaiwong W, Chompoosan C, Lerdweeraphon W.Vasovagal tonus index (VVTI) serves as a straightforward assessment tool for autonomic function during both physiological and pathological conditions, including pregnancy, in horses. Obtaining VVTI through a modified base apex lead system could be a practical and comfortable solution. In this study, we assessed VVTI in horses with respect to training status and electrocardiographic measurements utilizing a novel modified base apex lead technique. Unassigned: A total of 12 Thai native crossbred horses and 12 Arabian horses, all free of cardiac abnormalities, were enrolled in the study. Animals ...
Mazan MR, Simotas C, Coons T, Barrow B, Bedenice D, Minuto J, Wendell K, Deveney EF.Pulmonary function testing is critical to the diagnosis of equine asthma (EA), an important cause of respiratory disease in the horse, but its clinical use has remained elusive, unfortunately, due to the complexity of reference methods, esophageal balloon/pneumotachography (EBP), and forced oscillatory mechanics (FOM), so we sought a noninvasive, portable method for use in horses through rapid interruption of airflow for equilibration of alveolar pressure with proximal airway pressure, termed flow interruption (FI). Resistance (RINT) was computed as the relationship between the change in press...
Baudisch N, Singer E, Jensen KC, Eichler F, Meyer HJ, Lischer C, Ehrle A.Surgical treatment options for horses with overriding dorsal spinous processes include interspinous ligament desmotomy and partial spinous process ostectomy. The impact of spinal surgery on the three-dimensional biomechanics of the equine thoracolumbar spine and the epaxial musculature is unclear. Objective: To investigate the influence of interspinous ligament desmotomy and cranial wedge ostectomy on the biomechanics of the equine thoracolumbar spine and the paraspinal Musculi multifidi. Methods: Ex-vivo experiments. Methods: Twelve equine thoracolumbar spine specimens were mounted in a custo...
Oliveira MC, de Lima MT, Trindade PHE, Luna SPL.To evaluate if students without training assess pain similarly to an expert, and to compare indications for analgesic intervention based on student opinions versus scale scoring. Methods: Prospective, blind, randomized, cross-sectional study. Methods: Video recordings of a bull, horse, cat, pig and sheep. Methods: First-year veterinary medicine students assessed one video of a horse (n = 44) and one video of a bull (n = 39). Third-year veterinary medicine students assessed one video of a cat (n = 23) and one video of a pig (n = 21). Fourth-year animal science students (n = 16) assessed on...
Carey KJ, Smith I, Barr J, Caruso S, Au GG, Hartley CA, Bailey KE, Perriam W, Broder CC, Gilkerson JR.Hendra virus (HeV) is lethal to horses and a zoonotic threat to humans in Australia, causing severe neurological and/or respiratory disease with high mortality. An equine vaccine has been available since 2012. Foals acquire antibodies from their dams by ingesting colostrum after parturition, therefore it is assumed that foals of mares vaccinated against HeV will have passive HeV antibodies circulating during the first several months of life until they are actively vaccinated. However, no studies have yet examined passive or active immunity against HeV in foals. Here, we investigated anti-HeV a...
Bishop RC, Migliorisi A, Holmes JR, Kemper AM, Band M, Austin S, Aldridge B, Wilkins PA.Understanding normal microbial populations within areas of the respiratory tract is essential, as variable regional conditions create different niches for microbial flora, and proliferation of commensal microbes likely contributes to clinical respiratory disease. The objective was to describe microbial population variability between respiratory tract locations in healthy horses. Samples were collected from four healthy adult horses by nasopharyngeal lavage (NPL), transtracheal aspirate (TTA), and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) of six distinct regions within the lung. Full-length 16S ribosomal DN...
Ho HSM, Farrington AF, Bond AJ, Ho ENM, Wong WT.Estra-4,9-diene-3,17-dione (dienedione) is an anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) available on the market as a dietary supplement for bodybuilding. It is prohibited in both human and equine sports due to its potential performance-enhancing effect. With the rare presence of the 4,9-diene configuration in endogenous steroids, dienedione has been considered as a synthetic AAS. Nevertheless, the reoccurring detection of dienedione in entire male horse urine samples led to the investigation of its possible endogenous nature in horses, and its endogenous nature in entire male horses has been recently ...
Behroozi M, Graïc JM, Gerussi T.Diffusion-weighted Imaging (DWI) is an effective and state-of-the-art neuroimaging method that non-invasively reveals the microstructure and connectivity of tissues. Recently, novel applications of the DWI technique in studying large brains through imaging enabled researchers to gain insights into the complex neural architecture in different species such as those of (e.g., horses and rhinos), (e.g., bovids, swines, and cetaceans), and (e.g., felids, canids, and pinnipeds). Classical tract-tracing methods are usually considered unsuitable for ethical and practical reasons, in large animals...
Lindinger H, Wehrend A.In horses, parturition is characterized by the fact that any delays may rapidly result in the death of the foal. Therefore, birth monitoring and the rapid detection of dystocia are of great importance. For this purpose, the differentiation between behavior associated with physiological parturition and activities related to difficult parturition is important. The aim of this publication is to present the physiological behavior of mares during parturition on the basis of a literature review. The behavior of mares in the opening phase of parturition is highly individual. In general, it is charact...
Ruíz-López P, Domínguez JM, Granados MDM.To review monitors currently available for the assessment of nociception-antinociception in veterinary medicine. Methods: PubMed, Web of Science and Google Scholar. The results were initially filtered manually based on the title and the abstract. Conclusions: The provision of adequate antinociception is difficult to achieve in veterinary anaesthesia. Currently, heart rate and arterial blood pressure are used to monitor the response to a noxious stimulus during anaesthesia, with minimum alveolar concentration-sparing effect and stress-related hormones used for this purpose in research studies. ...
Nicolaiewsky TB, Richter MF, Lunge VR, Cunha CW, Delagostin O, Ikuta N, Fonseca AS, da Silva SS, Ozaki LS.We describe a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the detection of Babesia equi in equine infected erythrocytes using oligonucleotides designed on the published sequence of a B. equi merozoite antigen gene (ema-1). A 102bp DNA fragment is specifically amplified from B. equi but not from Babesia caballi, Babesia bovis or Babesia bigemina DNA. In a mock infection we were able to detect down to six infected cells in 10(8) equine erythrocytes or to detect the parasite in blood with an equivalent parasitemia of 0.000006%. Furthermore, gene polymorphism was found by performing a PCR-RFLP (PCR...
Clutton RE.Opioid analgesics have been the foundation of human pain management for centuries, and their value in animals has increased since it was proposed that it is the veterinarian's duty to alleviate pain whenever it may occur. Compared with other domesticated species, the horse has benefitted less from the increased understanding of opioid pharmacology in animals, because early literature was overlooked and later work, which examined adverse side effects rather than analgesia, concluded that analgesic and excitatory doses were irreconcilably close. More recent studies have indicated a widening role...
Nelson KM, Schram BR, McGregor MW, Sheoran AS, Olsen CW, Lunn DP.Inactivated alum-adjuvanted conventional equine influenza virus vaccines are of poor efficacy and offer limited short-term protection against infection. In sharp contrast, natural infection with equine influenza virus confers long-term protective immunity. In order to identify the protective immune responses to equine influenza virus, the influenza virus-specific IgA, IgGa, IgGb, IgGc and IgG(T) antibody responses in nasal secretions and serum induced by natural infection and a commercial vaccine were studied by ELISA. Two groups of four influenza-naive ponies were established. In the natural ...
Carr EA, Théon AP, Madewell BR, Griffey SM, Hitchcock ME.To determine the incidence of bovine papillomavirus (BPV) type 1 or 2 in sarcoids and other samples of cutaneous tissues collected from horses in the western United States. Methods: 55 horses with sarcoids and 12 horses without sarcoids. Methods: Tissue samples (tumor and normal skin from horses with sarcoids and normal skin, papillomas, and nonsarcoid cutaneous neoplasms from horses without sarcoids) were collected. Tissue samples were analyzed for BPV-1 or -2 DNA, using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism. The PCR products from 7 sarcoid-affected ho...
Banse HE, Andrews FM.Equine glandular gastric disease (EGGD) is an increasingly recognized disease of the glandular mucosa of the equine stomach. Diagnosis is confirmed by gastric endoscopy and scored based upon one of several different endoscopic scoring systems. Prevalence appears to be variable, depending upon breed and discipline. Primary identified risk factors include exercise frequency, and stress; therefore, management strategies are focused on reducing exercise and stress. Limiting grain intake and increasing pasture turnout may also be helpful preventative measures. Pharmacologic treatment consists prima...
Mendoza L, Alfaro AA.Thirty-nine pythiosis equine cases, were studied at the Veterinary Medicine School of the National University of Costa Rica, between 1981 and 1984. Lesions were located in different parts of their anatomy: anterior and posterior extremities, abdomen, thorax, breast and mammary gland, and were characterized by their tumoral appearance with necrotic tissue in which yellow-white coral-like necrotic masses, called kunker or leeches were shown. Splendore-Hoeppli like phenomenon and eosinophilic inflammatory reaction around the hyphae, was microscopically observed. Pythium sp. (Hyphomyces destruens)...
Tunley BV, Henson FM.Thermographic imaging is an increasingly used diagnostic tool. When performing thermography, guidelines suggest that horses should be left for 10-20 mins to 'acclimatise' to the thermographic imaging environment, with no experimental data to substantiate this recommendation. In addition, little objective work has been published on the repeatability and reliability of the data obtained. Thermography has been widely used to identify areas of abnormal body surface temperature in horses with back pathology; however, no normal data is available on the thermographic 'map' of the thoracolumbar region...
Gildea S, Arkins S, Cullinane A.Outbreaks of equine influenza (EI) in endemic populations continue to cause economic loss despite widespread vaccination. Objective: To identify the key management and environmental factors that determine the risk of horses contracting EI in an endemic country and to identify control strategies. Methods: Real time-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), virus isolation and haemagglutination inhibition were carried out on nasopharyngeal swabs and clotted blood samples collected from horses and ponies showing signs of respiratory disease. On premises where a diagnosis of EI was confirmed, the attend...
Zwart L, Potgieter CA, Clift SJ, van Staden V.African horse sickness is a serious equid disease caused by the orbivirus African horse sickness virus (AHSV). The virus has ten double-stranded RNA genome segments encoding seven structural and three non-structural proteins. Recently, an additional protein was predicted to be encoded by genome segment 9 (Seg-9), which also encodes VP6, of most orbiviruses. This has since been confirmed in bluetongue virus and Great Island virus, and the non-structural protein was named NS4. In this study, in silico analysis of AHSV Seg-9 sequences revealed the existence of two main types of AHSV NS4, designat...
Schemann K, Taylor MR, Toribio JA, Dhand NK.A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 759 Australian horse owners to determine their biosecurity practices and perceptions one year after the 2007 equine influenza outbreak and to investigate the factors influencing these perceptions and practices. A web link to an online questionnaire was sent to 1224 horse owners as a follow-up to a previous study to obtain information about biosecurity perceptions and practices, impacts of the 2007 EI outbreak, demographic information and information about horse industry involvement. Ordinal logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine...
Li F, Leroux C, Craigo JK, Cook SJ, Issel CJ, Montelaro RC.Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) is genetically one of the simplest lentiviruses in that the viral genome encodes only three accessory genes, tat, rev, and S2. Although serological analyses demonstrate the expression of the S2 protein in persistently infected horses, the role of this viral gene remains undefined. We recently reported that the S2 gene is not essential for EIAV replication in primary equine macrophages, as EIAV mutants lacking the S2 gene replicate to levels similar to those of the parental virus (F. Li, B. A. Puffer, and R. C. Montelaro, J. Virol. 72:8344-8348, 1998). We n...
Love EJ, Murrell J, Whay HR.This review evaluates the thermal and mechanical nociceptive threshold testing techniques that have been used in horses and discusses them with reference to their applications, limitations and the factors which can influence both the testing procedure itself and the animal's responses. Methods to optimise the reliability and repeatability of the testing procedures are suggested and the potential clinical applications discussed. Methods: Web of Science and Medline. Conclusions: Thermal and mechanical nociceptive threshold testing techniques have valuable roles in both the identification of alte...
Selim A, Khater H.Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is caused by Theileria equi and/or Babesia caballi and has economic importance particularly in equines reared in poor management systems. This study is based on cELISA test to study the seroprevalence of EP among 370 horses and 150 donkeys in four Governorates north Egypt. Additionally, its risk factors were studied for the first time. The seroprevalence rates 36.5 %, 20 %, and 5.6 % for T. equi, B. caballi, and mixed infections, respectively. The highest antibody levels against T. equi were detected in Kafr ElSheikh (40 %) and Giza (40.1 %) Governorates, whereas thos...
Ireland JL, Clegg PD, McGowan CM, McKane SA, Pinchbeck GL.With growing numbers of aged horses, geriatric medicine is becoming increasingly important in equine veterinary practice; however, there is a paucity of information on the UK equine geriatric population. Objective: To describe the demographic characteristics of the equine geriatric population and to assess management practices undertaken by owners of geriatric horses (aged≥15 years). Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted, surveying a randomly selected sample of veterinary registered owners with horses aged≥15 years, using a self-administered postal questionnaire. Results: Horses a...
Dall'Olio S, Fontanesi L, Nanni Costa L, Tassinari M, Minieri L, Falaschini A.Myostatin (MSTN) is a negative modulator of muscle mass. We characterized the horse (Equus caballus) MSTN gene and identified and analysed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in breeds of different morphological types. Sequencing of coding, untranslated, intronic, and regulatory regions of MSTN gene in 12 horses from 10 breeds revealed seven SNPs: two in the promoter, four in intron 1, and one in intron 2. The SNPs of the promoter (GQ183900:g.26T>C and GQ183900:g.156T>C, the latter located within a conserved TATA-box like motif) were screened in 396 horses from 16 breeds. The g.26C an...
Venter M, Human S, van Niekerk S, Williams J, van Eeden C, Freeman F.In 2010, lineage 1 West Nile virus was detected in South Africa in the brain of a pregnant mare that succumbed to neurologic disease and in her aborted fetus, suggesting an association with abortion in horses. All West Nile virus strains previously detected in horses and humans in South Africa were lineage 2.
Holmes TQ, Brown AF.Equestrian sports, including racing (e.g., flat, steeple-chasing, harness or donkey derby); show-jumping; cross-country; dressage; polo; polocrosse; endurance; carriage driving; vaulting and hunting; are hugely popular in the UK, and they involve a significant number of people, both as participants and spectators, and tens of thousands of equids. In this paper, we discuss animal welfare as a complex and disputed issue, clarifying what the term means and how it can be measured. We review many aspects of welfare risk to equids used for sport, addressing issues encountered throughout their lives,...
Baz M, Paskel M, Matsuoka Y, Zengel J, Cheng X, Jin H, Subbarao K.Since it is difficult to predict which influenza virus subtype will cause an influenza pandemic, it is important to prepare influenza virus vaccines against different subtypes and evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of candidate vaccines in preclinical and clinical studies prior to a pandemic. In addition to infecting humans, H3 influenza viruses commonly infect pigs, horses, and avian species. We selected 11 swine, equine, and avian H3 influenza viruses and evaluated their kinetics of replication and ability to induce a broadly cross-reactive antibody response in mice and ferrets. The swin...
Spier SJ, Leutenegger CM, Carroll SP, Loye JE, Pusterla JB, Carpenter TE, Mihalyi JE, Madigan JE.To develop and use a sensitive molecular assay for detecting the phospholipase D (PLD) exotoxin gene of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis in an attempt to identify insect vectors that may be important in transmission of clinical disease in horses. Methods: 2,621 flies of various species. Methods: A real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based fluorogenic 5' nuclease (TaqMan) system (ie, TaqMan PCR assay) was developed for the detection of the PLD gene in insects. Flies were collected monthly (May to November 2002) from 5 farms in northern California where C. pseudotuberculosis infection in...
Diarra M, Fall M, Fall AG, Diop A, Seck MT, Garros C, Balenghien T, Allène X, Rakotoarivony I, Lancelot R, Mall I, Bakhoum MT, Dosum AM, Ndao M....The African horse sickness epizootic in Senegal in 2007 caused considerable mortality in the equine population and hence major economic losses. The vectors involved in the transmission of this arbovirus have never been studied specifically in Senegal. This first study of the spatial and temporal dynamics of the Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) species, potential vectors of African horse sickness in Senegal, was conducted at five sites (Mbao, Parc Hann, Niague, Pout and Thies) in the Niayes area, which was affected by the outbreak. Methods: Two Onderstepoort light traps were used at each s...
Haussler KK.The clinical assessment of pain is subjective; therefore, variations exist between practitioners in their ability to identify and localize pain. Due to differing interpretations of the signs or severity of pain equine practitioners may assign varying levels of clinical significance and treatment options. There is a critical need to develop better tools to qualify and quantify pain in horses. Palpation is the most common method to detect local tenderness or sensitivity. To quantify this applied pressure, pressure algometry has been used to gradually apply pressure over specified landmarks until...
Votion DM, Linden A, Saegerman C, Engels P, Erpicum M, Thiry E, Delguste C, Rouxhet S, Demoulin V, Navet R, Sluse F, Serteyn D, van Galen G, Amory H.The emergent nature of atypical myopathy or atypical myoglobinuria (AM) necessitates precise description of its clinical and epidemiologic features. Objective: To define key features of AM to help practitioners recognize the disease and to advise owners to take preventive measures. Methods: Belgian cases of AM confirmed by histology (CC horses; n = 57) from autumn 2000 to spring 2005 were included in the study. Co-grazing horses (Co-G horses; n = 77) that remained free of any abnormal clinical signs constituted a control group. Methods: History, environmental characteristics, clinical signs, a...
Damiani AM, de Vries M, Reimers G, Winkler S, Osterrieder N.A particularly severe equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) abortion outbreak occurred at a breeding farm in northern Germany. Sixteen of 25 pregnant mares that had received regular vaccination using an inactivated vaccine aborted and two gave birth to weak non-viable foals in a span of three months, with 89% of cases occurring within 40 days after the initial abortion case. Virological examinations revealed the presence of EHV-1 in all cases of abortion and serological follow-up in mares confirmed recent infection. Molecular studies identified a neuropathogenic variant (Pol/ORF30 A2254 to G2254) ...
Goetting-Minesky MP, Makova KD.In mammals, males undergo a greater number of germline cell divisions compared with females. Thus, the male germline accumulates more DNA replication errors, which result in male mutation bias-a higher mutation rate for males than for females. The phenomenon of male mutation bias has been investigated mostly for rodents and primates, however, it has not been studied in detail for other mammalian orders. Here we sequenced and analyzed five introns of three genes (DBX/DBY, UTX/UTY, and ZFX/ZFY) homologous between X and Y chromosomes in several species of perissodactyls (horses and rhinos) and of...
Jones E, Viñuela-Fernandez I, Eager RA, Delaney A, Anderson H, Patel A, Robertson DC, Allchorne A, Sirinathsinghji EC, Milne EM, MacIntyre N....Laminitis is a common debilitating disease in horses that involves painful disruption of the lamellar dermo-epidermal junction within the hoof. This condition is often refractory to conventional anti-inflammatory analgesia and results in unremitting pain, which in severe cases requires euthanasia. The mechanisms underlying pain in laminitis were investigated using quantification of behavioural pain indicators in conjunction with histological studies of peripheral nerves innervating the hoof. Laminitic horses displayed consistently altered or abnormal behaviours such as increased forelimb lifti...
Schuler LA, Khaitsa ML, Dyer NW, Stoltenow CL.To characterize an outbreak of West Nile virus (WNV) infection in horses in North Dakota in 2002, evaluate vaccine effectiveness, and determine horse characteristics and clinical signs associated with infection. Methods: Retrospective study. Methods: 569 horses. Methods: Data were obtained from veterinary laboratory records, and a questionnaire was mailed to veterinarians of affected horses. Results: Affected horses were defined as horses with typical clinical signs and seroconversion or positive results of virus isolation; affected horses were detected in 52 of the 53 counties and concentrate...
Stover SM, Pool RR, Martin RB, Morgan JP.The dorsal cortex of the equine third metacarpal mid-diaphyseal bone was characterised during growth by the histological and microradiographic examination of specimens from 30 horses ranging in age from 2 months to 8 y. Bone from horses aged less than 6 months was characterised by rapid periosteal apposition of circumferential trabeculae of woven bone that were next connected by radial trabeculae to the parent cortex. Deposition of lamellar bone on the inner trabecular surfaces resulted in rows of primary osteons. Replacement of primary bone occurred only after 4 months of age and preferential...
Damborg P, Marskar P, Baptiste KE, Guardabassi L.The objective of this longitudinal study was to investigate the occurrence and genetic background of faecal Escherichia coli resistant to cefotaxime (CTX) in horses receiving broad-spectrum antimicrobial prophylaxis after admission to a veterinary teaching hospital. The ten horses enrolled in the study were treated with cefquinome either alone (n=4) or in combination with metronidazole (n=3) or other antimicrobial agents (n=3). CTX-resistant coliforms in faeces collected before, during and after treatment were quantified on selective MacConkey agar supplemented with CTX, and a colony isolated ...
